/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/55223093/518302206.0.jpg)
From LeBron James, to Shaquille O’Neal, to James Jones; Dwyane Wade hasn’t suffered from any shortage of time playing alongside some of the most talented players in NBA history during his career.
However, not every talented player is wired quite the same way. James is more of a playmaker who likes to make sure he sets up others, while O’Neal is fairly affable as long as he’s getting his shots.
Former Los Angeles Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant was cut from a slightly different cloth. Bryant was a notoriously difficult person to deal with at times, his competitiveness not allowing him to let things go, and it’s something that many speculated left some players not wanting to play with him during his career.
Whether that’s true or not, Wade apparently isn’t one of them, because when asked during an extended Twitter Q&A which player he never played with that he’d like to have, he dropped Kobe’s name for one simple reason:
I played with many GREATS. If I could have played with any one else..longer than an Olympic stint..Kobe just to practice against him daily. https://t.co/OWh1NXUfAl
— DWade (@DwyaneWade) June 12, 2017
Setting aside how hilariously ironic to see this answer from Wade, who once got so fed up with Bryant during a freaking All-Star game that he broke his nose with an elbow, it’s always interesting to see how many players publicly say they would’ve liked to play with Bryant. It apparently wasn’t for everyone, but it’s obvious his competitiveness did at the very least gain him a ton of respect around the league.
Harrison Faigen is co-host of the Locked on Lakers podcast (subscribe here), and you can follow him on Twitter at @hmfaigen.